Model Kits and Die Cast Models. F86 Sabre Military Jet Fighter from the Korean
War. These F86 Models come in plastic model kits, mahogany display models,
and detailed scale model diecast airplanes. Building plastic model
airplanes is a great way to teach your kid about military and American history
as well as teaching kids about modeling and construction skills.

Model Kits and Die Cast Models. The
F-86 Sabre was built by North American
Aviation and was the premiere jet fighter in the Korean War.
The F-86 Sabre is 40' 3" long, 15' high and has a wingspan of 39' 1-1/2".
The F-86 has an empty weight of 13,822 lbs and a gross weight of 18,484
lbs. The F-86 used one General Electric J47-GE-33 jet engine producing
5550 lbs of thrust. This aircraft did not have afterburner.
The Max range of the F86 was 750 miles, it has a max speed of 693 mph and
a max climb rate of 12,200 fpm (Feet Per Minute).There are many versions of this plane, these
specs cover only one version.

On June 27, 1950, U.S. President Truman
ordered the Air Force and Navy into the Korean conflict following a call
from the U.N. Security Council for member nations to help South Korea
repel an invasion from the North. The F-86 Sabre was the top aircraft
of this war. The eventual modification of the Saber into the F-86D
Sabre Dog created one of the first all weather jet fighters.

Given to F-86D pilots, from May 1956. Includes all the instructions,
performance data, drawings, charts, and diagrams - 300 pgs. of information
in all! 8½"x 11", sfbd.

Canadair Sabre Mk.VI 1/72 Die Cast Model
Erich Hartmann, JG 71

After serving 10 years in Soviet prison camps following World War II, Erich "Bubi"
Hartmann - the highest scoring ace in history with 352 victories - returned to
Germany and became commander of the West German Air Force's first all-jet unit:
JG 71 "Richthofen."
the Sabre swept-wing fighter jet flown by Hartmann in 1963, this
limited edition, 1/72 scale, die cast Corgi model features engraved panel lines,
a detailed cockpit with a pilot figure and a sliding canopy, a realistic nose
with machine gun ports and simulated heat shielding, a detailed turbofan blade
inside the engine intake, a movable air brake, optional-position landing gear
with real rubber tires, an authentic JG 71 paint scheme with Hartmann's personal
"black tulip" nose design, and more. 6" wingspan; includes a display stand.

a Sabre swept-wing fighter jet flown by 234 Squadron of the 2nd
Tactical Air Force based at RAF Gelenkirchen, Germany, in 1954, this 1/72 scale
die cast model features engraved panel lines, a detailed cockpit with a bubble
canopy and a pilot figure, optional-position landing gear with rubber tires,
authentic markings, and more. 6" wingspan; includes a display stand.

F-86F-30 Sabre 1/32 Kit
Capt. Joseph McConnell

Beauteous Butch II - an F-86F-30 Sabre flown by Capt. Joseph
McConnell, who became America's top-scoring jet ace when he shot down 16 MiG-15s
during the Korean War - as it was repainted following McConnell's final mission,
this 1/32 scale, plastic kit is loaded with quality features.
You get scribed panel lines and simulated rivets; a detailed cockpit with an
optional position canopy; a choice of nose wheel hubs; a removable aft section
that reveals a realistic General Electric J47 engine; prototypical "6-3" wings;
removable panels that reveal detailed gun bays; wing-mounted fuel tanks; steel
ballast; a choice of two markings from the 39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron,
51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing; a tail dolly; and more. Measures 13" in length
and wingspan; assembly required.

F-86F Sabre 1/48 Kit
Best known for its service in the Korean War where it was pitted against the
Soviet MiG-15, the F-86 Sabre was by far the most-produced Western jet fighter
with 9,860 units built. Now, you can build one more!
"The Huff," the F-86F flown by 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing pilot
Lt. James Thompson, who chose the colorful paint scheme after downing a MiG-15
with a dragon painted on its side, this 1/48 scale, plastic kit features finely
textured surfaces, a well-equipped cockpit with a glazed bubble canopy,
wing-mounted bombs and fuel tanks, realistic landing gear, and authentic
markings. 10" long with a 9" wingspan; assembly required.
Planes, Names & Dames
Vol. II:1946-1960Davis. This lavishly illustrated volume presents a remarkable photographic
collection of nose art that appeared on U.S. military aircraft, from the end of
World War II through the Korean War era and beyond. 64 pages, 235 B&W and 47
color photographs and illustrations, 8"x 10", softcover.

F-107A
Ultra Sabre 1/72 Model Kit
Plastic Model Kit
On Sept. 10, 1956, the No. 1 F-107A , which was originally designed
as a tactical fighter-bomber version of the F-100, made its initial
flight, attaining Mach 1.03. Despite that success, it did not go into production.
Detailed plastic kit features engraved panel lines, accurate exhaust
nozzle, and realistic tricycle landing gear with detailed legs and
a clear landing/taxi light on each. 12¼" length with a 6" wingspan;
58 pieces, assembly required.
More F-107 Ultra Sabre Models
HereCombat Over Korea
Philip West. Aviation Art Print
On July 19th, 1953, after his flight of four F-86s was
set upon by 16 MiGs, John Glenn
pursued and "flamed" a MiG to score the second of his three Korean War kills.
28"x 20" limited edition print is signed and numbered by the artist.

Created by professionals who have painstakingly
recreated and modified vintage drawings, this is a real blueprint of the
1950s jet engine fitted into many late-model (particularly Canadian) F-86
Sabres. 42"x 30".

History Study Notes for the
F-86 Sabre Korean War Jet Fighter

After serving 10 years in Soviet prison camps following World War II,
Erich "Bubi" Hartmann - the highest scoring ace in history with 352 victories -
returned to Germany and became commander of the West German Air Force's first
all-jet unit: JG 71 "Richthofen."

Sabre swept-wing Jet Figther
flown by 234 Squadron of the 2nd Tactical Air Force based at RAF Gelenkirchen,
Germany, in 1954

Beauteous Butch II - an F-86F-30 Sabre flown by Capt. Joseph McConnell,
who became America's top-scoring jet ace when he shot down 16 MiG-15s during the
Korean War - as it was repainted following McConnell's final mission

"The Huff," the dragon-wearing F-86F Sabre flown by Lt. James Thompson of
the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing; the 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing's commander's
aircraft; the Belgian Air Force, 1955; and the Italian Air Force, 1958)

"Mike's Bird," an F-86F flown by Captain Charles McSwain of the 39th
Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, stationed at Suwon
Air Base, South Korea, in 1953

The F-86F flown by 16-victory ace Maj. James "Jabby" Jabara - who, as the
first American jet ace, shot down fifteen MiG-15s (after scoring 1 victories in
World War II) to rank as the second-highest scoring U.S. ace of the Korean War -
of the 334th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, in
July, 1953

Best known for its service in the Korean War where it was pitted against
the Soviet MiG-15, the F-86 Sabre was by far the most-produced Western jet
fighter with 9,860 units built. "The Huff," the F-86F flown by 51st
Fighter-Interceptor Wing pilot Lt. James Thompson, who chose the colorful paint
scheme after downing a MiG-15 with a dragon painted on its side.

In 1948, intelligence warnings prompted the U.S. Air Force to hurriedly
develop an all-weather interceptor. Starting with the basic airframe of its
F-86A Sabre, North American incorporated two unprecedented concepts into the
F-86D (initially designated the F-95): a highly sophisticated electronic system
replaced the second crewmember carried by other interceptors and air-to-air
missiles replaced the classic gun armament. F-86D flown by the 357th
Fighter-Interceptor Squadron out of Nouasseur Air Base in French Morocco in the
late 1950s.

F-86D Sabre Dog 1/72 Yugoslav Air Force

Wham Bam, an F-86A Sabre flown by the 336th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron "Rocketeers,"
4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing (the top MiG-killing wing of the Korean War)

After serving 10 years in Soviet prison camps following World War II,
Erich "Bubi" Hartmann - the highest scoring ace in history with 352 victories -
returned to Germany and became commander of the West German Air Force's first
all-jet unit: JG 71 "Richthofen." Sabre swept-wing fighter jet flown by 3./JG 71
in 1963

Miss Jane, an F-86 Sabre flown by the
311th Fighter-Bomber Squadron
stationed at Osan Air Base, Korea, in 1958

Col. Francis Gabreski is shown here bagging one of the 6½
MiGs that he added to his total of 24 confirmed victories in Europe during
WWII.

The frosty morning air is shattered by a hunting party of F-86 Sabres
of the U.S. 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing,led by Gabby Gabreski, as they
blast off the runway at Kimpo airfield, South Korea.

This
is a highly detailed plastic kit of the F-86 variant with lengthened "6-3"
swept-wings that saw extensive use during the Korean War against the
MIG-15.

Canadair Sabre flown by
352-victory aceCol. Erich Hartmann of
JG 71 Richthofen, West German Air Force,
during the Cold War 1961
markings including Hartmann's trademark spreading black tulip nose art.

The Battle of Carlson's Canyon,

The Life Story of the World's Highest Scoring AceJager. With 352 aerial victories and ten years in a Soviet prison, Erich
Hartmann survived uprisings, hunger strikes, and forced labor. His will to do
his duty was remarkable - after being released, he was still mentally and
physically fit enough to fly F-86 jet fighters in
the post-World War II German Air Force. This photo album presents the different
stages of his life - a man who wished to become a doctor, but whose fate it was
to become and remain a soldier.

The CL-13 (F-86) flown by "Ace of Aces" Col.
Erich Hartmann leads the first all-jet fighter wing - JG 71
Richthofen, whose
aircraft all sport the spreading black tulip nose art that was Hartmann's
personal emblem throughout World War II - of the West German Air Force on a 1961
mission.

America's Air Force Celebrates 100 Years of Aviation. Hildebrandt.
Assembled by the USAF to celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight, this
unique demonstration team pairs military pilots in the
latest aircraft with
civilian pilots in classic Warbirds for breathtaking formation flight.
Outstanding air-to-air photography captures
F-16 Falcons,
F-15 Eagles and
A-10
Warthogs in concert with a
C-130,
B-25, F-86 and others.

Wearing what were perhaps the largest shark's
teeth markings of the Korean War, this F-86F was flown by Joseph Fields of the
4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing in 1953.

1950s jet fighter. A truly great platform, the
F-86 evolved into an all-weather interceptor, an atomic-capable fighter-bomber,
a carrier-based naval plane, a trainer, and much more. Documented here are the
XP-86 through the "L" variants.

The 116th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which was
the first to be based in Europe with F-86s.

The F-86D Sabre Dog, the military all-weather,
radar-equipped variant of the U.S. Air Force's early Cold War frontline jet
fighter.

Angel Face and the Babes flown by
USAF pilot Col.
Royal Baker - who achieved ace status during the Korean War - of the 336th FIS,
4th FIW

F-86E flown by
U.S. Air Force ace Capt. Clifford Jolley, who served with the
335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4th
Fighter-Interceptor Wing in Korea.

Mitch's Squitch, the F-86 piloted by 51st
Fighter-Interceptor Wing commander Col. John Mitchell, who shot down four MiGs
over Korea but who gained even more fame as the leader of the World War II
mission that shot down Admiral Yamamoto.

The 4th
Fighter Interceptor Wing (FIW) was sent
to Korea in December 1950 expressly to face the threat posed by the all-new
MiG-15 fighter that had made its combat debut the previous month. It remained
the sole Sabre wing in-theater for a full year, its pilots tangling with
Russian-flown jets over the Yalu River in "MiG Alley," on a near-daily basis.
Through sheer skill and superior machinery, the 4th FIW prevailed, and the skies
over North Korea remained firmly in U.N. control

On
July 19th, 1953, after his flight of four
F-86s was set upon by 16 MiGs, John Glenn
pursued and "flamed" a MiG to score
the second of his three Korean War kills.

John Glenn's Sabre, "MiG Mad Marine.

This beautifully restored F-86 Sabre, one of the
most pristine Korean-era warbirds flying, is painted with the markings of
USMC (then) Maj. John Glenn, Jr.
of the 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing and
flown by pilot Mike Keenum.

Col.
Walker M. "Bud" Mahurin, who added 3 kills to his World War II tally of
21 while flying in the Korean War.
Mahurin's Honest John markings
from the spring of 1952, when he was Commander of the 4th Fighter Wing;

Featuring the special 1956 "gunnery meet"
markings of a Sabre from the 366th Fighter-Bomber Wing based at
Alexandria AFB, Louisiana,

Painted in the colorful 1956 livery of the
Skyblazers, a USAF demonstration team that performed in Europe from the late
1940s through the late 1950s

The Huff, the F-86 flown by 51st
Fighter-Interceptor Wing pilot Lt. James
Thompson, who chose the colorful paint scheme after downing a MiG-15 with
a dragon painted on its side

Skyblazers poster features the F-86 that the USAF
demonstration team flew in Europe in 1955-56.

Col. Ralph Parr, who earned more than 60
decorations flying over 1,100 hours of combat in World War II, Korea and
Vietnam, this limited edition,

F-86F Sabre 1/72 Model
the F-86F flown by 16-victory ace Maj. James "Jabby" Jabara - who,
as the first American jet ace, shot down fifteen MiG-15s (after scoring 1
victories in World War II) to rank as the second-highest scoring U.S. ace of the
Korean War - of the 334th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter-Interceptor
Wing, in July, 1953.

F-86F Sabre
"The Huff," 51st FIW, Lt. James Thompson
Best known for its service in the Korean War where it was pitted against the
Soviet MiG-15, the F-86 Sabre was by far the most-produced Western jet fighter
with 9,860 units built.
"The Huff," the F-86F flown by 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing pilot Lt. James
Thompson, who chose the colorful paint scheme after downing a MiG-15 with a
dragon painted on its side.

F-86D Sabre Dog
519th Air Defense Group, 75th FIS "Tiger Sharks," 1953
In 1948, intelligence warnings prompted the U.S. Air Force to hurriedly develop
an all-weather interceptor. Starting with the basic airframe of its F-86A Sabre,
North American incorporated two unprecedented concepts into the F-86D (initially
designated the F-95): a highly sophisticated electronic system replaced the
second crewmember carried by other interceptors and air-to-air missiles replaced
the classic gun armament. the eye-catching
1953 paint scheme of the 75th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron "Tiger Sharks," 519th
Air Defense Group, including the squadron's "Tiger Sharks" emblem on the
fuselage and a shark's mouth on the engine air intake.

F-86D Sabre Dog
357th FIS, Nouasseur Air Base, French Morocco
In 1948, intelligence warnings prompted the U.S. Air Force to hurriedly develop
an all-weather interceptor. Starting with the basic airframe of its F-86A Sabre,
North American incorporated two unprecedented concepts into the F-86D (initially
designated the F-95): a highly sophisticated electronic system replaced the
second crewmember carried by other interceptors and air-to-air missiles replaced
the classic gun armament.
F-86D flown by the 357th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron out of Nouasseur Air
Base in French Morocco in the late 1950s.
F-86D flown by the 357th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
out of Nouasseur Air Base in French Morocco in the late 1950s.

F-86 Sabre
JG 71 "Richthofen," 1963
After serving 10 years in Soviet prison camps following World War II, Erich "Bubi"
Hartmann - the highest scoring ace in history with 352 victories - returned to
Germany and became commander of the West German Air Force's first all-jet unit:
JG 71 "Richthofen."
Sabre swept-wing fighter jet flown by 3./JG 71 in 1963

F-86D Sabre Dog,
the military all-weather, radar-equipped variant of the U.S. Air Force's early
Cold War frontline jet fighter

Heritage Flight.
hardbound Book.

America's Air Force Celebrates 100 Years of
Aviation. Hildebrandt. Assembled by the USAF to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of powered flight, this unique demonstration team pairs
military pilots in the latest aircraft with civilian pilots in classic
Warbirds for breathtaking formation flight. Outstanding air-to-air
photography captures F-16 Falcons, F-15 Eagles and A-10 Warthogs in
concert with a C-130, B-25, F-86 and others. 178 pgs., 185 color photos,
12"x 9", hdbd. No Longer Aviable.

The
North American F-86
"Sabre," like its predecessor, the
P-51D Mustang, was fortuitous in its developmental history, and is one of
those aircraft for which it can be said that had it not existed, history would
be written differently today. The Sabre would definitely be among the Top Ten of
the most significant fighter aircraft in history.

Fortunately for the United States, the Nazis were stupid enough
to chase Edgar Schmued from Germany in 1938 with their policies. The immediate
result two years later was the
P-51 Mustang, which
resulted from a design he had been toying with while working at Messerschmitt -
his Mustang was more responsible than any other Allied fighter for the aerial
destruction of Nazidom; the further result was that Schmued had no difficulty
reading the captured German technical papers which discussed the advantage of
the swept wing for jet powered aircraft as a way of delaying the onset of
compressibility and therefore increasing speed; he had also been in attendance
at the Volta Conference in 1935, and had left with a copy of Buseman's paper on
the theoretical superiority of swept wings in high speed flight. The result was
the Sabre.

Unofficially, the Sabre was
the first supersonic aircraft achieving a speed just in excess of Mach 1 in a
dive two weeks before Chuck Yeager "broke the sound barrier" in the
Bell X-1. The two
aircraft in many ways were intertwined, because it was the research performed by
the Bell X-1 that led to the creation of the "all flying tail," which greatly
eased an aircraft's penetration of the sonic barrier; the Sabre was the first
operational aircraft to which this was fitted. As a result, the Sabre was
faster, and more importantly more controllable at those high speeds, than its
Russian opponent, the MiG-15.

The Sabre was first ordered by
the Air Force on August 30, 1944. At that time the design had a strong
similarity to what would emerge from Republic's design department as the
F-84 Thunderjet. Fortunately,
in August 1945 Lee Atwood and Ray Rice were willing to listen to Schmued's
descriptions of the German papers before they were officially translated. Armed
with this information, Atwood went to the Air Force and got a year's delay on
the delivery date of the XP-86, time enough to add in the swept wings. It was
likely the most useful and important delay in aviation history. Had this not
happened - had the F-86 come out of the shop looking like a slimmed down version
of its naval counterpart, the FJ-1 Fury - the results of the aerial battles over
Korea a few years later would have been very different indeed.

The F-86A Sabre had only been
operational for a year when it went to war. The appearance of the MiG-15 over
the Yalu River in North Korea in early November 1950 sent shivers through the
Air Force - the unknown Russian jet was superior to everything in the inventory
other than the possible likelihood of the Sabre. Within a month, the 4th Fighter
Interceptor Wing - the descendant of the Eagle Squadrons and the 4th Fighter
Group of World War II fame - was flying combat missions out of Suwon, Korea. For
the next year, a force of Sabres that was never greater than 35-40 operational
aircraft held off a Communist air command of several hundred jet fighters. The
F-86A was followed a year later by the F-86E with the "all flying tail," and a
bit less than a year after that by the F-86F which had an updated engine and an
extended wing leading edge without slats, for upgraded high speed performance.

It is alleged that the Sabre
achieved a kill ratio of 12.5:1 against the
MiG-15 Faggot . This has since been
lowered to around 4.5:1 in the light of access to Soviet records after the end
of the Cold War. In fact, the MiG-15 was generally superior to the F-86 above
about 38,000 feet and could top out at 50,000 feet, which was superior to the
Sabre's operational ceiling; the MiG-15 was always at least the Sabre's equal in
climb and turn radius. What won the war for the Sabres was the edge provided by
the greater skill and experience of its pilots, many of who were aces of the
WW2, and all of whom were better-trained than their Communist opponents.

The first official USAF Sabre
"ace" was Captain (later MAJ) James J. Jabara, who achieved his 5th and 6th
kills May 20, 1951. In the spring of 1953, Jabara became the only ace to fly a
second tour, returning to the 334th FIS of the 4th FIW in late April 1953. The
Sabres were "turned loose" on the enemy in May, 1953, at which time an "ace
race" began between Jabara, his fellow 334th pilot CAPT Manuel "Pete" Fernandez,
and CAPT Joseph McConnell from the 39th FIS, 51st FIW. The race began in May
with Fernandez in the lead, followed by Jabara and McConnell who jockeyed back
and forth. In the end, it was McConnell by a nose to become the UN Ace of Aces
with 16 kills, followed by Jabara with 15 and Fernandez with 14.5.

Several exchange pilots from
the USN, USMC, RAF and RCAF flew with the 39th Fighter Interceptor Squadron of
the 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing, the second unit to be equipped with the Sabre
in Korea (this increase in fighter power was only achieved by a threat from the
Commander of the 4th FIW, Colonel Harrison
Thyng, to resign his commission and go home to make public the real facts of
the air war in the summer of 1952, when there were fewer than 30 operational
Sabres in the Korean theatre). It has been alleged that the USAF maneuvered the
assignments to keep these exchange pilots from achieving 5 kills, since the Air
Force wanted to keep "acedom" in its own ranks. Only one of these pilots, MAJ
John F. Bolt, USMC, broke the rule to achieve 6 kills. The second leading Marine
pilot was MAJ John Glenn, a pilot who would become well-known in the immediate
post-Korean period for a series of speed records, and would become even better
known at the end of the decade as the first American to orbit the earth as an
astronaut in the Mercury program. Glenn had three kills, which justified his
airplane's big gaudy name, "MiG-Mad Marine."